Safe House for Women's new leaders include familiar faces

Safe House for Women has two new people in leadership positions, and both have worked for the agency -- on staff or as volunteers -- for years.

Allison Leonard, director of operations at the agency that serves victims of domestic violence since 2003, now is executive director and Jessica Hill is in the new position of director of development. Now, Hill said, the responsibility is spread among Leonard, Hill, new shelter manager Kim Dixon, formerly child advocate and case manager, and thrift store manager Elizabeth Hileman.

"I feel like we've hit the ground running with our new positions," Hill said, adding they know the staff, programs and facilities well.

Jessica Hill

Short term, Leonard said, she wants to ensure Safe House's programs are the "best they can possibly be and [that] we're providing the best service." That means reaching everyone who needs those services and improving the agency's relationships with law enforcement and other community agencies so it can get referrals, she said.

Longer-term, Leonard and Hill said they are looking toward Safe House serving more clients.

Safe House's shelter can accommodate 22 to 24 people, depending on the combination of women and children, Leonard said. "Here [at the outreach office], we probably see 600 to 700 [yearly] through the doors in walk-ins and calls here at this office alone," she said.

"Our numbers keep increasing at the shelter and here at the outreach office," Leonard added. Safe House has 17 full- and part-time employees, plus 50 to 60 volunteers to keep the thrift shop going. Included are three counselors.

"Luckily right now we don't have a waiting list," Leonard said, "but that's a possibility. They're all almost full and clients keep coming in, so being able to increase our capacity to meet all the needs of the domestic violence victims and keeping our staff and volunteers and everyone safe" are high priorities.

Leonard's new responsibilities include overseeing shelter and outreach operations as well as managing facilities, finances and services, a news release said. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and Spanish from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, the release said.

Before she came to Safe House, Leonard worked at the Department of Social Services. "I really liked working in a residential setting, so when I saw the ad in the paper I thought, 'That's something I'd like to do' because I had worked with at-risk teens before and saw the domestic violence in the families and the dynamics of that," Leonard said.

"And from my first week I was hooked. A lot of people think it's a bad situation to see and work in every day, but it's really not; it's more of a hopeful and safe place."

The first time the executive director's position came open, Leonard had been at Safe House for only a year and a half and didn't feel ready for the job. As she learned more about the agency's inner workings from previous directors and the board, she changed her mind. She said having Hill is a plus.

"It was great to have a development director [be] part of that ... structure to take us on the to the next level," Leonard said. "I felt like that's a really needed position because you could do both, but you need to be able to do them well and effectively, so that was great that we were able to add a position."

Hill's responsibilities include fundraising, marketing, volunteer program management and grants administration, the release said. She had served as a Safe House volunteer and on the Safe House board of directors since 2011. Before that, she worked for her husband's church, the Church of the Nazarene in Cape Girardeau, as a contractor for Community Service Council and for 2-1-1 Helpline of Tulsa, Okla., where she once lived.

Hill got involved with Safe House as soon as she and her husband moved here. Hill holds a bachelor's degree in communication from Truman State University and a master's degree in not-for-profit management from Oral Roberts University.

"I think that the Safe House is an exceptionally well-run organization. ... All of the employees can take pride in the fact that we are providing a service that's critical to women and children who have survived a domestic violence situation. ... To see the transformation that occurs in the clients is remarkable," Hill said. " ... Not only are we working to help the victims of domestic violence, but we're also working to prevent domestic violence in our community, so a big part of what we do is going into the schools and community groups and talking about warning signs and social change that can really make a big impact on domestic violence."

For more information, visit semosafehouse.org or call 335-7745.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: 230 N. Spring Ave.